Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-06-10

1t is quite possible that cook, or a
chambermaid, or laundress may be a
lady at heart. 1t is also possible that
the mistress of the house may be in no
sense lady. And this brings us to the
query: "What does the word lady
signify?" To most of us, if we think
about it, it means q human being of the
female sex, gifted with culture, refine
ment, and breeding. We understand it
in some way as descriptive of the kind
of women under consideration. 1t does
not mean the costume she wears. The
number of dollars to her credit has
nothing to do with it, and it certainly
does not apply to every person who
wears petticoat. But, notwithstand-
ing the general conviction that "lady"
conveys a peculiar meaning, there has
long been tendency, even among we'll
bred people, to refer to every woman,
except the lowest working class, as a
lady.
The custom among domestics of dub
bling the entire part OF female creation
as ladies / have sometimes attributed
to our democratic form of government.
The peasants of the Old World never
dream of being "ladies'' in their own
country. They come here, where their
chance is as good as any ones one day
to ride in their own coach-and-four;
they find others no better than they
called ladies; the word has pleasant
sound in their untutorcd and unreason-
ing ears, and they cling to it, as if by
keeping tight grip they would the
sooner reach the coveted position. This
is a notion OF my own in which may
be mistaken. At all events the practice
prevails, particularly among the class l
have mentioned, and no amount of rea-
soning will be likely to uproot it.
But, why is there prejudice against
the term woman? 1t is good Anglo
Saxon word, comprehensive and intel
igent, and, as understand it, carries
no reproach with it. No greater praise
can be paid to the human female than
to call her a "womanly woman" 1t
gives an impression Of combination of
virtues and graces Of mind and heart
that can be conveyed by no other words.
"a fine woman, "a good woman" or
"a plain woman" is quite sufficient for
ordinary usage. The only time and
season when there seems to be any real
demand for the word lady is in de-
scribing woman of rare accomplish
ments, elegant manners, and high
birth And, after all, it seem to me that
the terms gentlewoman and lady are
synonymous. The one is defined as
gentle and we'll bred Does the other
mean more or less? It does not follow
that "well bred" means elegance of
manner. The most suave and polished
exterior may be rotten at the core, and
an llnpretentious surface may conceal
the kindness and gentleness of nature
without which no man or woman can
deserve the appellation of gentleman
or lady. But in spite of the foregone
conclusion that woman is proper and
sensible title for all female humankind.
there is tremendous prejudice against
1T, especially among workingwomen of
the intermediate class. The sales
women in stores are among the great
est sticklers for their rights in this
matter Has any one ever known a
'saleswoman" to advertise for a place?
Every paper, however, sets forth the
wants of more or less "salesladies.
They may every one of them be ladies.
Are they any the less women?-P hila-
delphia Record.
CIfE OF THE EYES